Darkness had fallen by the time that GS Transport Truck #653 returned to the company's Celadon City distribution center. As Ken pulled in another truck pulled out. This truck was another 750 Eeveeliner, although configured with a refrigerated cargo area. Truckers affectionately called rigs like that "reefers" and they were good for moving food, plants, and others perishable cargos that could be damaged by heat exposure.
Ken reached up for his radio to announce his arrival and find out where the GS crew wanted him to park his big rig for the night, ready to reload it for another run tomorrow. Fennekin stretched in the passenger seat, ready to call it a night. The reefer rig turned out of the parking lot and departed.
"This is Pachirisu 4 and I'm out of here bound for Pastoria City with a whole load of ice cream," came the voice of the other driver, speaking with a Sinnoh accent. "Midnight feels right for a smooth run tonight."
"Copy that, Pachirisu 4," came the dispatcher's voice in response. "Safe travels…and save me a scoop for my vacation up there this weekend."
"10-4," replied Pachirisu 4.
"This is Vulpix 3 and I'm looking to park my truck and go 10-7 for the night," Ken said. "I'm empty after dropping my load at the Celadon Department Store. I'm configured with a half-sized container and a half flatbed cargo area."
"Copy that Vulpix 3," came the dispatcher. "How about you park in Dock #37 where that reefer just pulled out. We'll likely get it loaded back up overnight."
"10-4, I'm pulling in now," Ken replied.
Truck #653 pulled up to Dock #37 before Ken threw it into reverse and backed into the building, the signature back-up beeper sounding as always. Another departing truck drove past as Ken's truck came to a rest and he shifted into park. The garage door in front of it closed. Ken turned off the engine.
"And done!" Ken said. "That one was a little wilder than usual with catching Jolteon and that double battle but overall I had some fun. How about you?"
"Fen," Fennekin replied.
"That's the spirit," Ken replied. "Let's get home and get some rest. We'll probably end up with an overnight run to Johto or something tomorrow."
"Fen," Fennekin replied as both he and Ken hopped out of the cab.
Ken closed the driver's door of his truck. Even at night the distribution center buzzed with activity as trucks were loaded and unloaded for departures around the clock. Ken and Fennekin were walking to the door when an announcement came over an intercom into the loading dock.
"Ken Worth, report to the legal department," it said. "Driver Ken Worth to legal. Thank you."
"What's that about?" Ken said. "We didn't do anything today that would prompt a lawsuit did we?"
"Kin," Fennekin replied, just as confused.
Rather than walking out Ken and Fennekin changed direction and headed for the main office section of GS's headquarters. The change was a dramatic one as they moved from the concrete and diesel smell of the dock into the well-appointed office area. Fennekin sniffed the air, it smelled like lavender and pine-scented cleaner inside. While the docks would be busy all night most of the office crew members were concluding their shifts and handing over to the late shift team.
Ken was in awe as he walked into the office building's main entrance. The interior was highlighted by spotless blue and gold carpeting and a winding staircase with gold-colored railings that went up behind the front desk. It glistened even in the dark. The highlight of the lobby was a display featuring GS Truck #1, Mack's own old 50 Rattatatruck. The little blue kei truck wasn't much bigger than a modern Unovan golf cart but it was the very first truck he bought when he started GS all those years ago. The company tracked it down, bought it back, and restored it for an anniversary event a few years ago.
On the wall there was a trophy case featuring awards won by the company and its drivers. Ken recognized his recent "Celadon City Division Employee of the Month" award and a newspaper clipping with a headline "Truck Drivers Risk All to Save Master Balls" recounting that infamous run to Pallet Town against Team Rocket he and Peter Biltmore had. Perhaps the most interesting item in the case though was an exact replica of the famous gold GS Ball from which the company took its name and logo. Mack had a passion for Pokémon and named his company after the most secure Poké Ball ever made, the one that protected its cargo against all efforts to open and take it. Ken recalled there was some hype about Professor Oak and an effort to open the real GS Ball a while back but he couldn't remember if anything came of it.
The staircase was lined with pictures of various GS trucks and drivers through the years. Ken and Fennekin recognized one of Peter with his Blastoise and Samurott and their truck outside the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League stadium. The trucking pair reached their destination in an office labeled "Legal Department." Ken knocked.
"Come in," came a voice from the other side.
Ken slowly opened the door. The only person left in the legal office was GS lawyer Hab Cornwell. Mr. Cornwell gestured for them to take a seat.
"Welcome Mr. Worth," Hab said. "I've been waiting for you. Sounds like you had a busy day with that wild Pokémon on board incident."
"Yeah, it ended up being an Eevee," Ken said. "I caught it and evolved it into a Jolteon."
"Good, electric types can be a big help on the road," Hab said. "Now, on to business. I'm sure you remember your haul with the Master Balls and that destructive chase that resulted."
"We aren't being sued for that are we?" Ken asked.
"No, no, no," Hab replied. "Team Rocket initiated that fight and as a result we can legally avoid too much trouble related to the chaos."
Ken and Fennekin both breathed a visible sigh of relief.
"Instead, I have good news for you," Hab said, reaching under and producing the small white box with the GS logo. "In fact you have received some restitution."
Ken's eyes lit up at the mention of restitution. This could be a nice bonus payday courtesy of those Team Rocket members he beat in the road battle that were subsequently arrested. Hab pulled out some paperwork.
"Those two grunts in the van pled guilty for a lighter sentence and as part of their sentencing we have been presented this to give to you for your troubles that day," Hab said. "Everything in this box is now being issued to you. Please sign this form to formalize the handover."
Ken signed his name and then opened the box with a vision of money in his head. He was however shocked when instead he found just general training equipment. There was a Luxury Ball, a couple potions and repels, and two chunks of purple rock. He was a little disappointed but hey, a few extra items was better than nothing.
"Team Rocket Grunts are usually sort on cash so when the judge sentenced them to cover some of the cost of the damage that chase caused to Truck #2,013 we knew we'd never get any of that money so we negotiated with them for seizure of their trainer gear and all other items they used in the attack instead. We even got some scrap money from the remains of their van you totaled out. Those purple rocks are Eviolite and it's great stuff. If your Pokémon can still evolve these will power them up until they do."
"Thank you," Ken said. "This wasn't expected but as it isn't a subpoena, I'll say this is a win."
"You're going to want to check out that ball because that comes with an assignment that will make it worth your while," Hab said. "You probably wanted some money. What is inside that will get you it."
"Really?" Ken asked.
Inquisitively he grabbed the Luxury Ball and clicked it open. Hab grimaced as he realized Ken pointed the ball toward himself, a major no-no when opening Poké Balls of all types because of what came next. He no doubt thought it was unoccupied, it wasn't. As ball clicked open the Pokémon inside was deployed right into Ken's face with enough force to topple over his chair. Fennekin's jaw dropped but he was able to pick it up again as he realized Ken was okay. Hab could only chuckle at Ken's error. The truck driver found himself on the floor with a face full of white fluff courtesy of the female Alolan Vulpix that had now appeared on his chest.
"Well, ah, hello there," Ken said to the ice type, fully feeling the cold radiating off her.
Ken picked himself up and the white Vulpix up. The Alolan Pokémon looked familiar and as Hab's words sank in Ken realized why. When GS Transport got ahold of everything the Rocket grunts used in the attack that meant they had somehow legally seized possession of their Pokémon too. This wasn't just any white Vulpix, it was the same white Vulpix that grunt had used to ice the road and try to cause him to crash his truck. Ken looked down at her. She honestly looked quite a bit scared as Ken righted his chair and put her down on the table. Calmly Ken reached down and gave her a quick pet, it seemed to alleviate some of her fear. She wasn't with Team Rocket now and when not shooting at him she didn't appear to a threat. Seeing Hab also made the little white fox less frightened.
"I'm sure you have some questions about this," Hab said. "And I have some answers. Team Rocket is escalating their theft efforts of late and making a severe push to become much more unpredictable and harder to battle as part of that."
"Is more road battling a piece of that?" Ken asked.
"Not so much yet as far as we can tell but I wouldn't put it past them," Hab said. "With so many other evil teams like Aqua, Magma, Galactic, Plasma, and Flare trashed and decentralized Team Rocket is looking to up the ante globally to fill the resulting power vacuum."
Vulpix winced at the mention of Team Rocket. Fennekin hopped up on the table to provide a reassuring paw of support to Vulpix. He gave her a smile and she honestly seemed puzzled by it. Fennekin sniffed the air and found she almost smelt like a Casteliacone. He liked those.
"They want much more unpredictability in battle to point of actually randomizing their grunts' Pokémon," Hab said. "On paper it makes a disturbing amount of sense, anyone who has fought a Team Rocket member before is less likely to know what they will use this time. And if the Pokémon is caught by law enforcement in the act of the crime than it doesn't have any trainer registered to it that it could be traced back to. But there is a tradeoff to that, since it doesn't have an official trainer that means it can be seized as restitution in court and we took that option. So. from now on this little lady is yours. We'll even get a tax write off for reforming her."
Ken knew that was coming. First they gave him a Fennekin and now that white Vulpix. Fate lines up strangely sometimes in the Pokémon world. Ken lined over and gave her another pet of reassurance.
"Welcome to the crew," Ken said. "I'll treat you well and you keep me safe from guys like Team Rocket. Deal?"
"Vul," the little fox replied.
"As for the other Pokémon the female grunt used the Raticate from that battle actually was hers so she kept it and they are both doing five months behind bars with the driver," Hab noted. "The Pidgeotto was randomized and we got it too but Mack decided that while you should have the Vulpix and he wanted the bird."
"Is he an avian Pokémon enthusiast?" Ken asked.
"No," Hab replied. "He just bought out a small Johto delivery company called Pidgey Express outside Ecruteak City. They haul little things with carrier Pidgey and he personally took the Pidgeotto out there to have it integrated into their flock. He's paying the old man and his grandson a pretty penny for it too, sounds like they were going bust but Mack thinks they could make some money if we get them into our delivery network and equip them with some bigger and faster birds to work along their already well-trained ones. Knowing his love of Pokémon and transportation, and how much money the guy has, it wouldn't surprise me if he bought that to invest in that as a hobby or a gimmick. He's over in Johto getting that going right now."
"Yeah, that sounds like Mack," Ken said, thinking back to what Professor Oak said about him. "So what's the deal with this ice-spiting white Vulpix? Team Rocket pack it full of Technical Machines? Normally Vulpix breath fire like Fennekin."
"This is an Alolan Vulpix, a rarer variant from the island region and they have adapted to be ice types instead," Hab said. "Her moves are natural. We found that she has some small tattoo markings inside her ear and we traced them to find out how Team Rocket got her. She was sourced from a breeder at the foot of Mount Lanakila, their natural habitat. Alolan Vulpix have been going up in popularity across other regions of late so the breeder didn't ask questions when he got a Kantonian order from a group that claimed it was apparently seeking an ice type Pokémon for a beginning trainer. We tried to find out who shipped her in but neither us, our friends at Tauros Trucking, Rattata Express, or any of the Alola transporters like Aurelia Shipping or Blue Angel Shipping had any record of it. Someone else must be bringing them in for the Rockets. I do know that Team Rocket put her in this."
Hab tossed Ken an unusual Poké Ball, it was solid purple with a more jagged rim and a big Team Rocket logo. It felt cheaper and flimsier than a normal Poké Ball. It could not be comfortable for the Pokémon using it. A tag attached to the ball listed Vulpix's data, including her move set of Powder Snow, Aurora Beam, Tackle, and Disable.
"I released her from that monstrosity and got her a Luxury Ball," Hab said. "She's been through enough with those crooks that she deserves someplace to be happy."
"How is Team Rocket randomizing the Pokémon it gives its trainers?" Ken asked.
"We aren't sure yet," Hab said, pulling a picture out of his pocket. "But we think they may have something to do it."
He passed the photo to Ken who looked it over. It was blurry but it looked like one of those prize machine dispensers from the front of a supermarket on steroids or a jacked up gumball machine.
"We don't have all the details on this yet but supposedly it is called the Rocket Prize Master and it is only in the testing phases as far as we can tell," Hab said. "We know something like that is going to need to be transported but again we can't figure out how they are doing it. They are packed with Pokémon and the grunt cranks the knob to get one out at random for a battle. We aren't quite sure of all the details yet. TAPTAC is even putting out a big bounty if one can be captured, either intact or in pieces."
Ken recognized the name TAPTAC. It sounded like a cute kids game but it stood for Truckers Against Pokemon Trafficking And Crime and the group took catching and punishing traffickers and others who use the trucking industry for criminal means seriously. TAPTAC was formed several years ago after an independent trucker got caught hauling a full load of illegally caught Zubats and Wurmples across the border from Kanto into Sinnoh for Team Galactic. The driver got blackballed and several of the trucking world's top companies, including GS Transport, teamed up to start an agency to track down and catch over the road troublemakers afterward.
"I'll keep an eye out," Ken said.
"Now, since you seem willing to take this Alolan Vulpix as part of your team I am authorized to give you this assignment as a reward for doing so," Hab said, producing the paperwork for a load. "This cargo won't be ready for a few weeks but I suggest you start getting ready for it now. They have recently opened up the first-ever Mega Stone mine in the Sinnoh region way up north on Glacier Peak Island and they are paying megabucks to get everything there for maximizing its operations. They are bringing in brave truckers for supply runs because the need for equipment is too much for airplanes alone to handle cost effectively and opportunities to move it in by cargo ship are restricted right now by ice in the channel between the island and the mainland. The load will be ready to ship in a few weeks time so get ready. You have to have an ice type aboard for this route."
Glacier Peak Island is about 30 miles to the north of Snowpoint City. The large island is home to several large mountains and a giant glacier that makes skiing possible all year round. It was best known for several ski resorts. There wasn't much further north of Glacier Peak Island than a few Arctic research stations and the North Pole workshop for that guy in red in the flying Stantler.
Ken reviewed the paperwork. The load itself was a basic one, general metal mining equipment with nothing hazardous, liquid, or explosive. It would be carried in a standard enclosed container. The job looked basic and yet it paid five times his usual mileage plus hazard pay. Something didn't add up, for that kind of money if the load wasn't hazardous the route must be.
"Wait, since this is an island what do want me to do?" Ken asked. "Is the road to the dock tricky?"
"You aren't going to be taking it to the dock, you'll be going straight to the mine," Hab replied.
"Certainly this time of year they have an icebreaking ferry, right?" Ken said.
"Nope, everything is too frozen over and the hovercraft the tourists use won't take big rigs."
"So is there a new bridge or tunnel I haven't heard about?" Ken asked.
"Nope," Hab said. "If there was this wouldn't be much of a challenge requiring hazard pay would it?"
Ken's eyes got large as he realized what Hab meant. Fennekin and Vulpix both looked at their trainer and then back to Hab.
"They've got an ice road up and running though," Hab said. "Train hard, be ready, and above all else be cautious. The "Froslass Freeway" didn't get that nickname for nothing and I don't want your truck washed out before it gets back to shore."
Ken was still weeks away from this job but he knew already this run would be one of his toughest yet. A run to Sinnoh would be nice though, perhaps he could stop and see his sister Sandra on the way. At least running the ice road couldn't get more dangerous…
Meanwhile though in another part of Kanto a special meeting was taking place at the massive headquarters of the shady Team Rocket. The headquarters had an undisclosed secret location, which is of course conveniently just off I-Route 22 between Pallet Town and Indigo Plateau. The team's reputation was enough that few were gusty enough to try anything at its offices; the criminal team even painted a giant red "R" on the exterior of the building. Inside the office Giovanni's right hand woman Matori had gathered together three members of Team Rocket's specialized hijacking unit to make preparations for a future attack.
"Team Rocket's status as the top team in Kanto and Johto is unchallenged but with Team Galactic a splintered relic after Cyrus' downfall Sinnoh is ours for the taking," Matori said. "I'm making plans for a full-on assault in the region with my Matori Matrix unit later but they are in the initial stages. You have a proposal for how we could make a dent with sooner though?"
The light shifted to reveal the members in the discussion as Robert, Ellee, and their Purrloin.
"Yes ma'am, we do," Robert replied. "I suggest we prepare for your attack by sourcing a load of Mega Stones. Many of the Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution are from the Sinnoh region and the recent discovery of a rich deposit of them on isolated Glacier Peak Island make them ripe for the taking. They just started mining operations there."
"What is security at the mine like?" Matori asked.
"Pretty strict," Ellee replied. "They bring in pro trainers to guard it well…but with little police presence in the area we think there is an opening if instead of attacking the mine we attack the stones in transit. There's no courthouse on the island. If we could put down a low-level member as bait and get them arrested the lone Officer Jenny there would have to haul him to the mainland for trial. It could leave the trucks that carry the stones unprotected and then we'd nail them. They are using an ice road to bring trucks to the island but if we stop them on the land before they leave the risks would be lower than attacking in an unstable area like that."
"And if they make it onto the ice?" Matori asked.
"We have contingencies for that," Robert replied. "Construction-grade contingencies."
Matori thought to herself for a second.
"Make it happen," Matori said. "We can provide some additional support. If you need additional firepower beyond you own Pokémon perhaps we can equip you with one of the new Prize Masters."
"We'll have the stones for you before you know it," Ellee replied.
"You'd better, we don't want any failures like that Master Ball incident," Matori said. "Don't get reckless. Get results."
AUTHOR NOTES
Ken was always going to get a Vulpix for his team (as his handle implied) and I even planned out how he'd get a Kanto one before scrapping that in favor of the Alolan one for this upcoming ice road adventure. I thought it being the same one that nearly wrecked him earlier would be a nice twist; originally his Alolan Vulpix would be strictly "company issued" like Fennekin was and he'd only get it after he arrived at the ice road. I might do some extra stuff in the interim before he faces the "Froslass Freeway" so stay tuned. Coming Soon: Ice Road Pokémon!
TAPTAC is a mild reference to real-life American trucking as there is an actual nonprofit group called Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT). They recruit truckers, bus drivers, and the like to watch for the warning signs and report potential human trafficking whenever they see it so they are some real life "Heroes of the Highway." They don't put out bounties obviously so this fictional agency is very different.
Merry Christmas! The reference to Santa and the North Pole is a shoutout to the fact that in the Pokémon world he is indeed a very real figure, North Pole and everything. He showed up in the anime a few times back in Kanto and Johto.